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You can join the PTA ($10 for individuals and $15 for two parents) online at our Maple East PTA website.Go to www.mapleeast.my-pta.org then follow these easy steps:
1.Click on the School Store Tab.2.Scroll down and choose an individual or family membership and enter the
quantity.3.Click Add to Cart.4.Click Checkout after you have reviewed the memberships in your cart.
How to Join the PTA
Maple East Elementary: A National PTA School of Excellence
The verdict is in, and Maple East is a winner! At our September 30th PTA General Meeting, we made the formal announcement that Maple East has been named a National PTA School of Excellence for the 2015-2017 school years. We were one of only 124 schools nationwide, and one of only four schools in New York State to receive this honor. Needless to say, we’re excited!
The National PTA’s School of Excellence is a program that supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools to improve the educational experience and school environment for every child. As a National PTA School of Excellence, Maple East families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success, and our PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvement. This program provided guidance to assist our school in engaging families in school decision-making, and help our school build inclusive policies related to education, health, safety or the arts.
We need the continued participation of all of our parents, teachers, and families, as this designation places our PTA in the running to become a Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award recipient for the success of integrating family-school partnerships. We are extremely proud of the work that we have done to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students.
Becoming a National PTA School of Excellence began with a joint commitment of PTA and our phenomenal administrative team who wanted to work together to welcome all families, communicate effectively, support student success, speak up for every child, share power and collaborate with the community. Our school has successfully mastered these commitments and we applaud everyone for doing so! So please, stay involved and stay tuned!
Inside:October Calendar of Events 2Principal’s Message 2Volunteer Opportunities 4Fall Fun Night Preview 4
MAPLE EAST ELEMENTARY
The Lion’s PenOCTOBER 2015
Check us out! Our students & staff were part of Channel 7’s on-air
first day of school coverage!
Upcoming EventsOctober 3rd; 3:30 p.m.• It’s Maple East Spirit Day at the UB
Bulls football game. Put on your Maple East spirit wear and cheer on the Bulls as they take on Bowling Green.
October 13th; All Day• Book collection for our popular
Used Book Exchange begins. Please send in gently used children’s books for all age ranges. Kids and teachers will choose from among the donated books for their own libraries; the extra books will be donated to a group in need.
October 16th; all day• It’s a Maple East Spirit Day!October 21st; 9:30 a.m.• PTA General Meeting, featuring
guest speaker Dr. Scott Martzloff, Superintendent of Williamsville Schools.
October 23rd; All Day• Used Book Exchange Day
collection ends; kids and teachers will “shop” for their new books today.
October 23rd; 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.• Maple East’s favorite fall event -
Fall Fun Night! Enjoy Games, the Cake Walk, Haunted Readings, Entertainment, Snacks, Beverages and our HUGE basket auction.
October 27th; 6:00 p.m.• Maple East Night at the Alex and
Ani store on Main Street in Williamsville. Shop and support our PTA!
November 2nd; Time TBD• Didn’t like your child’s first take?
This is your chance for a reshoot during School Picture Retake Day.
Contact UsHave questions about the PTA, membership, or where our fundraising money and membership dues go? Or even better, want to find out how to get even more involved? Any member of the executive committee will be more than happy to answer your questions. You can find our names and contact information on our website (www.mapleeast.my-pta.org) or email the general PTA inbox at [email protected]
Dear Maple East Families,I hope everyone had a fantastic start to the new school year! We are so happy to have the building filled once again with the happy sounds of children. As always, our Welcome Back Event was very well-attended. I hope everyone enjoyed seeing old friends and hopefully made some new friends as well. Thank you to our wonderful PTA for planning such a great event, as well as a very special celebration on September 30. We have much to celebrate as a National PTA School of Excellence!
I hope you enjoyed our Parent Orientations! The teachers worked very hard to share with you all that you need to know to help your child be successful this school year. We hope you also took advantage of the opportunity to attend the teacher presentations on the math modules the evening of September 30. Hopefully the grade-level specific glimpse into the program helped explain the concepts and vocabulary that might be different from what you experienced when you were in grade school, and more clearly illuminated the continuum of skills through the early grades.
As we all know, last winter was exceptionally long and cold. Many of our families took this opportunity
to travel to warmer climates to get a break from our northern weather. While I value family vacations and certainly support well-spent family time, I would strongly encourage you to plan any vacations around the school breaks. Attendance on a regular basis makes an already strong educational program even s t ronger, as t here are many educational experiences that occur in the classroom setting that cannot be duplicated in other places, nor at other times, once the experience has occurred. This is particularly true with the ELA instruction, where in-depth student conversation and follow-up activities around the issues or main points of a text are such a vital part of the curriculum. When a student is absent, he or she misses the input of all students during this rich discussion.
Thank you, parents of Maple East students, for being our partners in your child’s education. When parents work together as partners with schools, they increase their child’s chances for academic success. We look forward to working with you over the coming months. Together we will accomplish great things during the 2015/16 school year!
Sincerely,Cathy Mihalic
Principal
Alex and Ani FundraiserAfter a successful experience last
spring, the PTA is bringing back the Alex and Ani by popular demand! The Maple East Night at Alex & Ani, located on Main Street in Williamsville, will take place on Tuesday, October 27th. More information will be sent home with your child, but start thinking now about all of your holiday shopping needs. For more information, contact Michelle Leonis at [email protected].
Nurse’s NotesEach month, our school nurse,
Elaine Herberger, puts together a column of information on healthy eating and tips for staying healthy. Read her full column on the Lion’s Pen tab of our website: mapleeast.my-pta.org. This month’s features: nutrition tips and head lice information.
Attention Fourth GradersDid you know that families of fourth grade students nationwide can get free admission to hundreds of national parks, historic sites, and waterways? Check out the government’s program, Every Kid in a Park, at www.everykidinapark.gov.
School Event ParkingPlease note that overflow parking for select school events is available in the adjacent church parking lot. However, parking there is only permitted for select afternoon or evening events, not any Maple East event. Please note the following dates when parking is permitted in the church lot:• October 23- Fall Fun Night• February 5- Guest Reader Night• May 12- Spring Event• June 3- Bike Rodeo• June 6- Bike Rodeo Raindate
Western New York Children’s Book ExpoSave the date for the inaugural WNY Children’s Book Expo. Hosted by Monkey See, Monkey Do bookstore, the event will feature 30 children’s book authors, author signings, workshops, kids' crafts and more. The event will be held on Saturday, November 14th from 10 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at Kleinhan’s Music Hall and is free to children and families. The event is aimed primarily at preschool & elementary grade children.
November Lion’s PenAll articles for the November Lion’s Pen are due no later than Friday, October 16th. Please include any events and activities for the month of November. Email articles and any questions to: [email protected]
Girl Scout Troops FormingIs your daughter interested in
joining Girl Scouts? Troops are forming right now for girls of all ages. For more information about Girl Scouting and to receive an invitation to an informational meeting about Girl Scouting please email your name, child’s name, school and grade to: Karen Coia, Williamsville Service Unit manager, Girl Scouts of Western New York, [email protected], or visit the website and click on the “Contact Us” tab hopkins-maple.webs.com.
News From the School Social WorkerSchool social work services are available to students and their families here at Maple East. A variety of programs are offered throughout the school year. Stress management and The Problem Solver groups will begin the week of October 12th. Groups meet once a week during your son or daughter’s lunch period. All children are encouraged to bring a bag lunch during this meeting time. If you feel your son or daughter would benefit, please fill out and send in the permission slip on the Lion’s Pen tab of our website: mapleeast.my-pta.org.
Halloween CandyPlease consider sending in whatever Halloween candy you may not want to Maple East. Last year, our school social worker collected and donated the candy to an adult care facility and a shelter for women and children. Please send in your donations to the attention of: Mrs. Schiumo, School Social Worker.
Did You Know?Part of the Maple East PTA budget helps keep our local Erie County libraries open on Sundays!
Volunteer OpportunitiesIf you can assist for an hour or two, please sign up online at www.mapleeast.my-pta.org and click on the volunteer or event tab.
Used Book Exchange: Oct. 23rdTime: Morning/AfternoonHelp collect books on mornings leading up to the event. On the day of the event, set up and clean up the exchange, as well as perform customer service duties for the kids who are book “shopping.”
Fall Fun Night: Oct. 23rdTime: Late Afternoon/EveningHelp set up and decorate at the event, volunteer at the cake walk, or at the popular basket auction. Parent volunteers are also needed to help secure baskets for the silent auction in advance of the event.
Cafeteria VolunteersFrom 11:15 - 12:45 every day, parents are needed to come into the cafeteria and help with lunch duty. Scheduling is online and flexible. Please email Laura DiGiulio at [email protected] to sign up or to get more information.
Recess Volunteers NeededWe are still in need of more volunteers in order to run outdoor recess for 3rd and 4th graders this year. Please consider volunteering for one hour or more to help keep this wonderful program running!
WE NEED 4 VOLUNTEERS PER DAY TO RUN OUTDOOR RECESS AND 2 PER DAY TO RUN INDOOR RECESS. Recess volunteers are scheduled from 11:00 -12:00 and are only scheduled on the days they request and can participate as often as they request per month.To sign up, or if you have questions, contact Nicole Flanagan at [email protected] or 478-6358.
Fall Box Tops Due!Maple East families please keep clipping and sending in box tops to your child’s classroom. Volunteers will be picking up box tops starting on October 1st from each classroom for the next count. Box Tops can be found on many of
your favorite products including General Mills, Juicy Juice, Green Giant, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Ziploc, Kleenex, and many more. For a complete list of participating products and to sign up to receive valuable email offers go to boxtops4education.com.
Each Box Top is worth 10 cents to our school. Check your cupboard today! Ask family members to clip, too. If you have any questions feel free to contact the box top coordinator, Trisha Lembke at [email protected]
Support the PTA
(1) Dash’s ShoppersSave your receipts and collect them from friends and family! For every $100 we collect, Maple East gets $3.50. Receipts are collected all year long and are tallied in January and June. Each classroom teacher has an envelope in his or her room.
(2) Target Red CardYou can sign up for a Target Red Card credit card or debit card at any cash register at Target. Once you have your card, not only will you receive 5% off all Target
purchases, but a percentage of those purchases will also be sent directly to Maple East.
(3) Tops Bonus Card
All you have to do is purchase participating products at TOPS with a registered TOPS BonusPlus® and TOPS will donate a portion of the money raised to the school of your choice (Maple East)! Go to: www.topsmarkets.com/education/pages/tie_parents_and_shoppers_s.las
OTHER WAYS TO HELP:1. AT SMILE.AMAZON.COM,
CHOOSE MAPLE EAST PTA AS YOUR CHARITY OF CHOICE.
2. USE CODE 70076181 WHEN MAKING PURCHASES AT OFFICE DEPOT.
Fall Fun NightOur Biggest Event
Fall Fun Night is Friday, October 23, 2015 from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Bring the whole family and enjoy games, cake walk, haunted readings, entertainment, snacks, beverages, and our HUGE basket auction!! Ticket prices: Students and adults are $5.00 per person. Adults who bring a cake for the cake walk are FREE! Be on the lookout for the pre-sale order form we will be sending home with your child mid-October.
PARENT VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED!! If interested in volunteering, please contact Michelle Monaco Unger at [email protected] if you can help set up or work during Fall Fun Night.
Get Involved in the AuctionThe auction will feature themed baskets
created by each classroom plus donations from local businesses. How can YOU help? Pick one (or more) from the options below!
1.Participate in your classroom basket item collection.
2.Volunteer. There are shifts available to help the evening of the event.
3.Donate items or ask your friends who own businesses to donate!
4.Bring your wallet and bid! We will be accepting cash, check and credit card payments!
For more information contact Amanda Megan at [email protected] All the money raised will directly support our children here at Maple East Elementary.
Thank you for your support!
